USMLE - Official 2017 Step 2 CK Experiences and Scores Thread

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Blizzard18 said:
The worst is when you read the question and your mind says "mwahaha I know the answer to this one" and then two seconds later your rereading answer options because the one you were certain was right is not even there. I had that happen a few times. It's disheartening


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Same here. I was like, yup I got it, and then read the answers and got super confused.
how is this possible that the median is 242? This exam is freaking awful. I talked to some US grads (I'm an IMG) and they told me most people got 220-230, so what am I missing?

Is it the curve? It's more favorable? Well, I don't think US grads have anything to worry about. As far as I know 20% IMGs fail this thing :/
 
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All I can think of right now is a question I had on my last block (when I was seeing double) that was one of those click to proceed ones and how I clicked the wrong answer and then realized the right answer is the last option which I overlooked as I clicked proceed... and there was no point back from that. let's just say my thought process was "noooooooooo" through out the rest of that block. I just want to cry.
 
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yrmd said:
All I can think of right now is a question I had on my last block (when I was seeing double) that was one of those click to proceed ones and how I clicked the wrong answer and then realized the right answer is the last option which I overlooked as I clicked proceed... and there was no point back from that. let's just say my thought process was "noooooooooo" through out the rest of that block. I just want to cry.
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I had one of those in the first block. I thought: that detail is a a red herring... Noooooo. From that point on I started putting more value on things I would normally think are not that crucial, given the vagueness of the questions.
 
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Joanna1987 said:
I don't think so... I'm pretty sure there were many questions that I could come up with 2-3 correct answers but I think they have their algorithm and you kind of need to choose...

Pretty crappy. I'm trying not to think about it so much but I just can't. Keep going through the questions I remember but have no clue what answer should be (almost 50) and it just drives me crazy.

I got 70% on UWSA2 which correlated to 243. I have no idea how i'm supposed to get this much on a real deal.

I recently read somewhere that you need 65% (more or less) to pass? Anyone has any info?
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Based on my exam experience, I feel that 70% should equate to 270s 🙁 that's how crappy my test was
 
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yrmd said:
All I can think of right now is a question I had on my last block (when I was seeing double) that was one of those click to proceed ones and how I clicked the wrong answer and then realized the right answer is the last option which I overlooked as I clicked proceed... and there was no point back from that. let's just say my thought process was "noooooooooo" through out the rest of that block. I just want to cry.
Click to expand...

Same feeling about my last block - seeing double and stuff. This exam is brutal haha
 
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aaroo said:
Hey, don't worry about those army and navy stuffs. They are just patients demographics and most of the time, nothing to do with the actual content they are testing. Good luck
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Agree with this 100%. Don't think too much into it. I think it was just their convenient theme.

bluemagik5 said:
Well, regarding the assigned points I have no clue. Now, I will say that on MANY questions I had 2-3 CORRECT ANSWER CHOICES but as you know only one is the most correct. Also, they will be douche bags and give you the correct steps in management for example: (THIS WAS NOT ON MY TEST) you can get corticosteroid, IVIG therapy, and plasmapheresis for treatment of multiple sclerosis. However, you HAVE to ensure you note the TIME OF ONSET and DURATION to pick the right one (hint: steroid for acute exacerbation and the rest for remitting MS not responding to steroid treatment). They did this type of bulls**t on MANY occasions during the exam. Also, you will encounter stuff you've probably never seen before along with giving you options to some questions you are left wondering WTF.
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Omg yes... or I looked at it more as less standard of care and more like what can you remember from ridiculous 5th line treatment... some of the answer choices made no fricken sense.
 
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Starting to remember all the stupid mistakes I've done on the exam. Some I had no idea and some I did but didn't know what happened I guess I was just tired/nervous. Plus some stuff from basic sciences which I honestly forgot and we're not talking about general things that are easy to remember, like detailed basic science qs. And the ethics questions with many possible answers? Oh and I had 4-5 biostat most if not all of my blocks and one drug ad with three qs. I feel like I really bombed that thing right now. Felt better after step1.
 
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yrmd said:
Starting to remember all the stupid mistakes I've done on the exam. Some I had no idea and some I did but didn't know what happened I guess I was just tired/nervous. Plus some stuff from basic sciences which I honestly forgot and we're not talking about general things that are easy to remember, like detailed basic science qs. And the ethics questions with many possible answers? Oh and I had 4-5 biostat most if not all of my blocks and one drug ad with three qs. I feel like I really bombed that thing right now. Felt better after step1.
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Same here. I had a small freak-out last night because I was looking up the answer to stuff I remembered, needless to say I got them wrong. I think I made my wife even more nervous about this exam; she is taking her CK in two weeks.
 
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In our future practices, we'll all have those "what if" moments. This exam is an exercise in letting things go. Having taken the exam, there is no comfort that comes from ruminating on the most apocalyptic scenarios or imagining all the ways that we could have failed. Moving forward, we have two choices: to stress constantly about something we have no control over or to put it out of our mind and leave it in the past. Regardless of the path we choose, our scores won't change. We did our best. CK isn't life. It's just a hoop we jump through. I refuse to relive that jump over and over every day until Sept. 6. That is a unique form of torture.


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yrmd said:
Starting to remember all the stupid mistakes I've done on the exam. Some I had no idea and some I did but didn't know what happened I guess I was just tired/nervous. Plus some stuff from basic sciences which I honestly forgot and we're not talking about general things that are easy to remember, like detailed basic science qs. And the ethics questions with many possible answers? Oh and I had 4-5 biostat most if not all of my blocks and one drug ad with three qs. I feel like I really bombed that thing right now. Felt better after step1.
Click to expand...

You are not alone. This was pretty equivalent of my experience as well. Granted I don't have a score yet to reassure you. It's just been long enough that I've mentally blocked out most every question I had lol. Hang in there.


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Reveler said:
In our future practices, we'll all have those "what if" moments. This exam is an exercise in letting things go. Having taken the exam, there is no comfort that comes from ruminating on the most apocalyptic scenarios or imagining all the ways that we could have failed. Moving forward, we have two choices: to stress constantly about something we have no control over or to put it out of our mind and leave it in the past. Regardless of the path we choose, our scores won't change. We did our best. CK isn't life. It's just a hoop we jump through. I refuse to relive that jump over and over every day until Sept. 6. That is a unique form of torture.


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I agree with you my dear , its an exam not the end of our life ! 😍

*****

Regardless of the path we choose, our scores won't change.
We did our best.
CK isn't life.
That is a unique form of torture

*****
 
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abcd6133 said:
I agree with you my dear , its an exam not the end of our life ! 😍

*****

Regardless of the path we choose, our scores won't change.
We did our best.
CK isn't life.
That is a unique form of torture

*****
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Unfortunately a lot of our career plans are hinged on this score. A person with 250+ on step1 and intending to apply to some of the competitive specialties may need to re-evaluate their plan if their CK score is below average.
 
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Ophthoseidon said:
But what if you get an MI when you get your score?
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I did my best , and thats it, believe it or not I will never cry nor get MI 😉 will enjooooy my time rather than thinking about my mistakes in a test of millions in my life and career

Think about it , if you think positively / negatively , the exam is over, what you did will not change.

I did around 10 of license exams, and gained the experience to relax after them !

Enjooooy ur time and relaaaax 🙂🙂
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Unfortunately a lot of our career plans are hinged on this score. A person with 250+ on step1 and intending to apply to some of the competitive specialties may need to re-evaluate their plan if their CK score is below average.
Click to expand...

I agree with you ( TOTALLY ), I share the same score tbh , and aiming for +260 in CK

But what can we do or change if we think and think negatively ?! :angelic:
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Yeah, nothing can be done now. All I want is an average score. Heck, just a pass is good at this point
Click to expand...

Guys, if you got 250 on Step 1, there is NO WAY IN HEAVEN you would fail or get 230. That's it. I got 239 and I'm scared I won't pass.
I'm also an IMG, so bad score equals zero chance for residency.

The truth is, though, it's done. I just hope we will be happy in 11 days 🙂
 
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Yes I made this account just to say this

Can everyone calm the f down? This is why the medical student community gets such a bad reputation.

> 90% of people posting "omg I DEFINITELY failed" are probs people who scored 250+ on step 1 and are like applying into ortho or derm.

Let's scale back the drama and be real. You were all probably also the ones who got your step 1 score and posted on here "actual score: 257! I literally guessed on the whole thing!"

Just stop! I got below a 200 on step 1, yet I'm more far less concerned. Step 2 was hard but nothing was in a different language. It was clinical science questions... let's all calm down because I have a MAJOR suspicion that you all will be back on here in September posting

"Don't know how this happened, but 263!!!!"

Just calm the f down and relax. It's all the gunners on here talking about failing. It's the people who actually should be worried given past scores that are the level headed ones who stay away from posting dramatic things on here fishing for false reinforcement
 
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iceman55 said:
You'll be fine man. And a step 2 ck score should definitely NOT hinge anyone towards or away from a specialty selection, it just does not have that level of importance. All it basically is the cream at the top. As long you did not completely bomb , which you most likely didn't, you will be fine.




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Despite my last post telling everyone to calm the f down... I think your commented is very misguided. Yes step 1 means ALOT. But I also think residency programs care (id argue even more so) that you know what test to order for someone with peritoneal signs or what diagnosis to make than if you memorized FA STEP 1 well enough to regurgitate all the steps in the Krebs cycle or the name of a bug that you will never see in your life
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
Yes I made this account just to say this

Can everyone calm the f down? This is why the medical student community gets such a bad reputation.

> 90% of people posting "omg I DEFINITELY failed" are probs people who scored 250+ on step 1 and are like applying into ortho or derm.
Click to expand...
Ronsmith33 said:
Despite my last post telling everyone to calm the f down... I think your commented is very misguided. Yes step 1 means ALOT. But I also think residency programs care (id argue even more so) that you know what test to order for someone with peritoneal signs or what diagnosis to make than if you memorized FA STEP 1 well enough to regurgitate all the steps in the Krebs cycle or the name of a bug that you will never see in your life
Click to expand...
Id argue that knowing what test to order is something you'll learn very well in residency. However you will never get another chance at learning basic medical science that makes your medical knowledge much deeper than that of a midlevel. Besides, you will need to understand the rationale and scientific justifications for the tests you order and diagnoses you make.
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
Yes I made this account just to say this

Can everyone calm the f down? This is why the medical student community gets such a bad reputation.

> 90% of people posting "omg I DEFINITELY failed" are probs people who scored 250+ on step 1 and are like applying into ortho or derm.

Let's scale back the drama and be real. You were all probably also the ones who got your step 1 score and posted on here "actual score: 257! I literally guessed on the whole thing!"

Just stop! I got below a 200 on step 1, yet I'm more far less concerned. Step 2 was hard but nothing was in a different language. It was clinical science questions... let's all calm down because I have a MAJOR suspicion that you all will be back on here in September posting

"Don't know how this happened, but 263!!!!"

Just calm the f down and relax. It's all the gunners on here talking about failing. It's the people who actually should be worried given past scores that are the level headed ones who stay away from posting dramatic things on here fishing for false reinforcement
Click to expand...


I'm far from 250. This is why I'm scared. I have never been on the 250 level. I also graduated a few years ago and my future depends on the exam that I feel didn't go as well as I wanted it to.

I'm sorry but my worries are legit and you have no effing right to tell me to stop posting and talking to people who are going through the same.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Id argue that knowing what test to order is something you'll learn very well in residency. However you will never get another chance at learning basic medical science that makes your medical knowledge much deeper than that of a midlevel. Besides, you will need to understand the rationale and scientific justifications for the tests you order and diagnoses you make.
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lol I think passing M1, M2, step 1, M3 shelves, step 2 is good enough evidence that you have knowledge that surpasses a mid level.

Whatever, if I'm the only one who will be annoyed when you all start posting your 260+ scores after claiming you failed, that's my problem. Better I do stay off this forum. Best of luck
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
lol I think passing M1, M2, step 1, M3 shelves, step 2 is good enough evidence that you have knowledge that surpasses a mid level.

Whatever, if I'm the only one who will be annoyed when you all start posting your 260+ scores after claiming you failed, that's my problem. Better I do stay off this forum. Best of luck
Click to expand...
Best of luck to you too
 
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Joanna1987 said:
I'm far from 250. This is why I'm scared. I have never been on the 250 level. I also graduated a few years ago and my future depends on the exam that I feel didn't go as well as I wanted it to.

I'm sorry but my worries are legit and you have no effing right to tell me to stop posting and talking to people who are going through the same.
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Didn't you just pass step 1 with a 239? Not that far off from 250. But that's beside the point. Didn't mean to offend you personally. It's just this thread is full of people who are SO FAR from failing given their past high achievements that it's almost nauseating to hear these people complain that they may not have beaten their step 1 score of 260.
 
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My friend (classmate) took it late July and he told me it was much more easier than step1... I hope to have that feeling after taking it.

I was shooting for 245+ --trying to compensate for a bad step1 score, but after reading the last 2 pages of this thread, I will be ok with a passing score😛. Taking it in October!

Should I use step1 FA for eye pathologies? I am getting all these wrong in Uworld...
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
Didn't you just pass step 1 with a 239? Not that far off from 250. But that's beside the point. Didn't mean to offend you personally. It's just this thread is full of people who are SO FAR from failing given their past high achievements that it's almost nauseating to hear these people complain that they may not have beaten their step 1 score of 260.
Click to expand...

My only point was I have reasons to be scared. Not these fake ones, like "I'm a good student, always 90-100% and **** and I'm scared".
It makes me feel better when I talk to people who get it.

Anyway, let's just hope we will be fine.

I really want all of us to succeed. That's all 🙂
Good luck


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W19 said:
My friend (classmate) took it late July and he told me it was much more easier than step1... I hope to have that feeling after taking it.

I was shooting for 245+ --trying to compensate for a bad step1 score, but after reading the last 2 pages of this thread, I will be ok with a passing score😛. Taking it in October!

Should I use step1 FA for eye pathologies? I am getting all these wrong in Uworld...
Click to expand...

Nope. Don't bother. Do Uworld.



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Ronsmith33 said:
Didn't you just pass step 1 with a 239? Not that far off from 250. But that's beside the point. Didn't mean to offend you personally. It's just this thread is full of people who are SO FAR from failing given their past high achievements that it's almost nauseating to hear these people complain that they may not have beaten their step 1 score of 260.
Click to expand...

I get your point, though.
There are ALWAYS people who will cry about their exams only to get260.
I actually hated them in Med school lol




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Since I took the exam on Friday August 25th is there a possibility to get the score on September 13 basically the third Wednesday after my exam but less than three weeks wait or should I be expecting it to be available on September 20th the 4th Wednesday which would be a bit over three weeks?
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
Yes I made this account just to say this

Can everyone calm the f down? This is why the medical student community gets such a bad reputation.

> 90% of people posting "omg I DEFINITELY failed" are probs people who scored 250+ on step 1 and are like applying into ortho or derm.

Let's scale back the drama and be real. You were all probably also the ones who got your step 1 score and posted on here "actual score: 257! I literally guessed on the whole thing!"

Just stop! I got below a 200 on step 1, yet I'm more far less concerned. Step 2 was hard but nothing was in a different language. It was clinical science questions... let's all calm down because I have a MAJOR suspicion that you all will be back on here in September posting

"Don't know how this happened, but 263!!!!"

Just calm the f down and relax. It's all the gunners on here talking about failing. It's the people who actually should be worried given past scores that are the level headed ones who stay away from posting dramatic things on here fishing for false reinforcement
Click to expand...

hahahhah
thats true ... it's really bothering , they have good step 1 scores and good clerkships knowledge and complaing in a not logical way . many replays told you its the trend to be feeling like you fail the exam but you will got a good score .... many said trust your estimation from nbmes or uwsa and the preperation , and what was hard in the exam is hard for others , which will made the curve compensate ...

but they like never learn from the previous replays .... plz doctors calm down , you are on the safe side ...

but us who are really average or below , are really in a challenging situations , where we have to bulid much new knowledge & hoping that there is a chance to get a favourable sets of questions .

good luck for all .
you really did a good gob . and at the end i promise you will be a good doctors who would be a help to the patients health & well being .
medicine is about patients and managments of health care , not just facts exams .
so be proud .
best wishes dears .

I am taking the exam after 7 weeks , i didn't take step 1 yet , but i will manage to cover important issues on basics science like pharma & micro .
will update my score here after it's release . aiming for ( 240-255 which i think is possible in 2 months , even having weak basics )
 
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Ronsmith33 said:
Despite my last post telling everyone to calm the f down... I think your commented is very misguided. Yes step 1 means ALOT. But I also think residency programs care (id argue even more so) that you know what test to order for someone with peritoneal signs or what diagnosis to make than if you memorized FA STEP 1 well enough to regurgitate all the steps in the Krebs cycle or the name of a bug that you will never see in your life
Click to expand...

Yes in theory that all sounds good. But most residencies, especially competitive specialties, don't care as long as you don't bomb it.


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Ronsmith33 said:
Yes I made this account just to say this

Can everyone calm the f down? This is why the medical student community gets such a bad reputation.

> 90% of people posting "omg I DEFINITELY failed" are probs people who scored 250+ on step 1 and are like applying into ortho or derm.

Let's scale back the drama and be real. You were all probably also the ones who got your step 1 score and posted on here "actual score: 257! I literally guessed on the whole thing!"

Just stop! I got below a 200 on step 1, yet I'm more far less concerned. Step 2 was hard but nothing was in a different language. It was clinical science questions... let's all calm down because I have a MAJOR suspicion that you all will be back on here in September posting

"Don't know how this happened, but 263!!!!"

Just calm the f down and relax. It's all the gunners on here talking about failing. It's the people who actually should be worried given past scores that are the level headed ones who stay away from posting dramatic things on here fishing for false reinforcement
Click to expand...
I think all the uproar is because the questions were just too vague, sometimes even poorly written and the test often asked questions about obscure stuff. To top it off, the material I studied (UWORLD, step 2 FA, USMLERX) could answer perhaps 50% of the questions (IF I had memorized absolutely everything), for the rest I had to guess. Given the importance of this test, guessing 50% of the questions does not make me feel good at all. If you look at my step 1 experience post I said: I think I did pretty well, then I did pretty well. I would not go as far as saying I did poorly here; I think I got at least an average score. But it is still annoying and anxiety generating that 50% of my score will be based on luck, rather than on the countless hours I have spent studying for this. From the looks of it, it seems as if it is somewhat specific to this cohort, as I don't remember as many people saying that about Step 1 or step 2ck before (on the very contrary, not too long ago people were saying: do step 2 ck first because it's easier for people practicing medice/doing rotations).
 
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Joanna1987 said:
I get your point, though.
There are ALWAYS people who will cry about their exams only to get260.
I actually hated them in Med school lol


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Click to expand...



I beat those students up and take their lunch money.... 🙂
 
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Exam was hard as hell. Some stuff was fine but the time pressure was very palatable. Lot of stuff from left field that made me think where would a person reasonably read this. I bet you could ask this guideline to some specialist in the field and they wouldn't know it. I get that they are trying to separate high scores but some qs are just ridiculous. Step 1 seemed straight forward in comparison.
 
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parcus said:
I think all the uproar is because the questions were just too vague, sometimes even poorly written and the test often asked questions about obscure stuff. To top it off, the material I studied (UWORLD, step 2 FA, USMLERX) could answer perhaps 50% of the questions (IF I had memorized absolutely everything), for the rest I had to guess. Given the importance of this test, guessing 50% of the questions does not make me feel good at all. If you look at my step 1 experience post I said: I think I did pretty well, then I did pretty well. I would not go as far as saying I did poorly here; I think I got at least an average score. But it is still annoying and anxiety generating that 50% of my score will be based on luck, rather than on the countless hours I have spent studying for this. From the looks of it, it seems as if it is somewhat specific to this cohort, as I don't remember as many people saying that about Step 1 or step 2ck before (on the very contrary, not too long ago people were saying: do step 2 ck first because it's easier for people practicing medice/doing rotations).
Click to expand...

pretty well said. read my post above.
 
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How much cardiology in the exam ???
i feel like they emphasize about it & many questions is not only about its clinical topics , but also about some basics & mechanisms of pathophysiology .... so is U world cardio enough to get more 85% correct of it's questions on the real exam ?? what is yr opinion ?
 
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baraa123 said:
How much cardiology in the exam ???
i feel like they emphasize about it & many questions is not only about its clinical topics , but also about some basics & mechanisms of pathophysiology .... so is U world cardio enough to get more 85% correct of it's questions on the real exam ?? what is yr opinion ?
Click to expand...
Had about 15-20 if Im not mistaken. Two were murmurs where they provided a one sentence description and you had to move the steth to listen to the murmur and pick the right answer, several cases where you had to pick proper management, and EKG interpretation where proper management had to be chosen.
 
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bluemagik5 said:
Had about 15-20 if Im not mistaken. Two were murmurs where they provided a one sentence description and you had to move the steth to listen to the murmur and pick the right answer, several cases where you had to pick proper management, and EKG interpretation where proper management had to be chosen.
Click to expand...

aha that's seems fine , thanks dear .

so i guess U world seems more than enough for cardio .
whats about other areas ??
infectious i guess u world plus micro from first aid step 1 is enough . ( i have to see first aid because now i made most of the infectious cases wrong . any advice about that ?? )

so the bulk is about the proper next step managments & diagnosis .
i guess thats hard but better than if they asked about direct areas of a topics.
so going through U world plus STUM plus step 2 secrets plus MTB step 3 - then improving my weak areas - .. would be great even if i didn't got everything in my mind - as i am bad at memorizing facts - , but it's enough to have a picture & understanding of each topic , so i can answer logically & omits many choices .

i will have the exam in 7 weeks . going through u world slowely (done about 400 Qs - 1 block daily-) but i guess i will get faster by time , and didn't do step 1 & forget most of the basics .
what do you recommends me also to do to get +245 ??
 
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